New gene connected to breast cancer risk highlighted

Researchers in Australia have fast-tracked the discovery of a new gene associated with increased breast cancer risk using the latest genetic sequencing technology.

Professor Melissa Southey of the Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory in the Department of Pathology at the University of Melbourne led the team which made the breakthrough.

It is hoped the positive result will pave the way for future discoveries, with only about 30 percent of the risk factors associated with the development of breast cancer currently explained.

She commented: "The mutations in the newly identified gene XRCC2, although rare, explain another proportion of breast cancers that run in families where there is no known genetic cause."

However, Professor Southey added it is unlikely that any other single gene is likely to have a significant impact on the development of breast cancer and therefore future breakthroughs will depend on the determination of specific gene combinations which affect the condition.

The news follows the successful completion of a phase III clinical study into the benefits of a new subcutaneous administration method for breast cancer treatment Herceptin.